How to make leather placemats and coasters

Photography by Catherine Gratwicke.

14 September 2015

This is a super-simple way to make placemats and coasters that look great and are very affordable.

YOU WILL NEED

Leather. Use any kind you like, but it should be a minimum of 1.2mm thick. Don't go too thick, as in saddle leather, as this will prove almost impossible to cut. How much you need will depend on how many and what size coasters you want to make.

Fabric scissors

Paper scissors

Pattern-making paper or greaseproof paper

A selection of glasses and small plates to use as templates

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Two pencils - mechanical or sharp for paper and soft lead for leather

Decide what you would like the coasters for – maybe just mugs and glasses, maybe a whole table extravaganza. Each coaster needs to be bigger than the bottom of the vessel resting on it. Just select bowls or plates – anything round really – to create the sizes you need. For cups and glasses I used the rim of a small bowl and for dinner plates I used a side plate as a template.

Trace around the shapes onto the paper, then cut the patterns out. As leather is neither square nor perfect, move the paper shapes around the hides to get the maximum number of coasters. Both types of paper are slightly translucent so will allow you to see any blemishes or holes. You can skip this step and trace directly from bowl to leather if you prefer.

Using a very sharp pair of scissors, cut around each shape in long smooth cuts, keeping just inside the tracing line.